2010 SGFA Cup Final
The 2010 SGFA Cup Final was the 30th final of the SGFA Cup, the main domestic knockout cup competition in Gregorian football. The match was contested on May 30, 2010 at the National Cricket Ground in Warner Bay, between Midland International and Starrs County. Midland won the match 2-0, claiming their first SGFA Cup championship in their second appearance in the Final. The game was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, May 29, but was delayed 24 hours due to severe thunderstorms which had hit the area. Build-up The 2009-10 season was, to date, Midland's most successful campaign. They had finished as runners-up to FC Chapman in League A, their highest-ever league finish, and were returning to the Cup final for the first time since 1998, when they had lost 3-1 to rivals Forest United. Starrs County, on the other hand, had reached the Final for the first time but it had come at the end of a season through which they struggled mightily. County flirted with the relegation zone all season and only secured their League A safety on the final day with a win at home over Little Rouge, which allowed them to leapfrog Rouge into 14th place. This position on the table meant County would have to meet the winner of the League B playoffs just three days before the Cup Final was scheduled, for the right to remain in League A. County faced Eventide on May 26 and defeated them 2-1 to ensure a return to League A the following season. Midland had defeated County in both League A matches that season, winning 3-0 at Midland Stadium in November and then 2-0 at Mount Harcourt Stadium in March. Tim Taylor was selected to referee the final, in what would be his final professional match as he had announced his retirement earlier in the month. Match summary Weather delay May 2010 had been a particularly wet and stormy month across much of St. Gregory. Heavy rain and thunderstorms had hit Warner Bay for much of the week leading up to the scheduled match day, but kick-off remained scheduled for 4pm local time Saturday as normal. However, around 3:15pm a particularly violent storm hit the area, resulting in lightning around the Harbourside area. Spectators were evacuated from their seats and told to take shelter under the stands. The storms persisted past the scheduled kick-off time and at 5:50pm, Taylor and other match officials met to discuss postponing the match until the following day. At 6:15pm, the announcement was made that the match had been rescheduled. Match details Rossi |referee = Tim Taylor}} Post-match Midland faced FC Chapman, who had won back-to-back League A championships, in the 2010 SGFA Shield. It was the second Shield meeting between the two sides and the first since 1999. Chapman came into the match as Shield holders and retained their title with a 2-0 win. County, meanwhile, would last only two more seasons in League A before being relegated to League B at the end of the 2011-12 season. They did not return to the top flight until 2017-18. Category:Match pages Category:Midland International F.C. matches Category:Starrs County F.C. matches Category:2009-10 in Gregorian football